Ampul stand and opener



April 30, 1968 M. USHKOW E A AMPUL STAND AND OPENER Filed Jan. .13. 1966IN VEN TORS.

US H KOW MEYER DAVID E. USHKOW AT TOR NEYS United States Patent3,380,636 AMPUL STAND AND OPENER Meyer Ushkow and David Elliot Ushkow,both of 75-04 196th Place, Flushing, NY. 11365 Filed Jan. 13, 1966, Ser.No. 520,448 Claims. (Cl. 225-103) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A devicefor opening an ampul having at its top end a tapered tip which isadapted to be snapped off from the body of the ampul along a score lineextending around the neck of the arnpul, so that in this way access maybe had to the interior of the ampul. The device includes a substantiallyrigid holding means forengaging and holding the ampul at the bodythereof. A lever means is provided for engaging the tapered tip andsnapping the latter from the body of the ampul at the score linethereof, and this lever means includes an elongated bar formed with atapered opening passing therethrough. This tapered opening has a taperwhich matches the tapered tip of the ampul. The depth of this opening,however, is less than the length of the tapered tip, so that theexterior sur face of the tapered tip of the ampul engages the entiresurface which defines the tapered opening of the lever. In this way thelever engages the tapered tip without any play for securely snapping thetip from the body of the ampul.

The present invention relates to ampul opening devices.

As is well known, it is customary to store medication, particularlyliquid medication which is to be introduced into the body of a patientby way of a needle, for example, in ampuls. These ampuls have elongatedhollow bodies generally of cylindrical configuration in which the liquidmedication is stored. They are closed at their top ends by tapered tipmembers which are integrally joined to the body of the ampul at a narrowneck of the ampul which is conventionally provided with a circular scoreline extending around the axis of the ampul so that the tip of the ampulcan be conveniently snapped off from the ampul at the score linethereof. Inasmuch as these ampuls are conventionally made of a materialsuch as glass, which is brittle and prone to shattering, care must beexercised in snapping off the tip of the ampul at the score line. At thepresent time the known devices for opening ampuls do not permit the tipthereof to be snapped off from the body in a secure safe mannerguaranteeing against shattering of the ampul and possible injury to theperson opening the ampul.

It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to providean ampul-opening device which will indeed enable the operator to open anampul in a secure, safe manner which will reliably prevent anyshattering of the material of the ampul or injury to the operator.

It is furthermore an object of the invention to provide a device whichwill not only permit safe opening of an ampul but which will in additionhold onto the tip which is separated from the body of the ampul so thatthe tip can be disposed of in a safe highly reliable manner.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a devicewhich on the one hand will securely support an ampul during openingthereof and which on the other hand will limit the extent of movement ofthe hand of the operator with respect to the ampul and the force whichthe operator can apply to the ampul during the opening thereof so as toprovide an extremely safe but nonetheless easy and convenient ampulopening.

In addition, it is an object of the invention to provide a device which,after the ampul has been opened, renders the removal of the contentsthereof extremely convenient and furthermore guarantees an easy removalof substantially the entire contents of the ampul.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device of the abovetype which will afford an easy inspection of the interior of the ampuleven during opening thereof.

Primarily, with the structure of the invention a holding means isprovided for holding the ampul securely at its body during opening ofthe a'mpul. A lever means cooperates with the tapered tip of the ampulfor separating the tip from the body of the ampul along the score line.

In accordance with the invention this lever means is in the form of anelongated bar formed with an opening passing therethrough to receive thetapered tip of the ampul, and this opening has a tapered configurationmatching that of the ampul tip and has a depth substantially less thanthe length of the ampul tip so that the entire surface of the taperedopening is engaged by the exterior surface of the ampul tip providing 'asecure gripping of the tip by the lever in a substantially play-freemanner which will guarantee a secure and safe opening of the ampul.

The invention is illustrated by way of ex'ample in the accompanyingdrawings which form part of the application and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of one possible embodiment of adevice according to the invention shown in a position where its supportsan ampul and is about to be operated for opening the ampul;

FIG. 2 is a partly sectional longitudinal elevation of the device of theinvention illustrating a stage in the operation subsequent to that ofFIG. 1, FIG. 2 showing the structure in the position it takes justbefore the ampul tip is separated from the body of the ampul; and

FIG. 3 shows the structure, also in a partly sectional longitudinalelevation, in a position which it is capable of assuming forfacilitating removal of the contents from the interior of the openampul.

Referring now to the drawings, the device 10 of the present inventionincludes a holding means 12 for holding the ampul A during the openingthereof. Also, the device includes a lever means 14 for engaging thetapered tip b of the ampul to facilitate removal thereof.

As may be seen from FIG. 2, the ampul A has its tapered tip b integrallyjoined to the elongated hollow body 0 of the ampul A at a narrow neckportion d which is provided with a circular score line e extendingaround the axis of the ampul A at the narrowest, throat portion of theneck d. Therefore, as a result of the situation of the score line e atthe neck d the ampul can have its tapered tip b separated from the body0 at the score line so as to give access to the interior of the body cthrough the opening at the neck which is surrounded by the score line 2.Some ampuls are not prescored, such as by a score line e, in which casescoring can be readily achieved by any suitable implement, for example afile.

The holding means 12 is in the form of a block which may be made of anysubstantially rigid material such as wood, plastic, or even any suitablemetal, if preferred. The block has a fiat bottom surface 16 which isadapted to lie flush against the top surface 18 of a tabletop or thelike so as to provide a secure supporting area of substantial dimensionsfor the device 10 during opening of an ampul. This secure supporting ofthe device over a substantial area by engagement of the substantialbottom surface 16 of the block 12 with the surface 18 is an importantfeature since it prevents insecure moving about of the ampul during theopening thereof and guarantees a stationary holding of the ampul duringits opening.

The block 12 has an upwardly directed top surface 20 formed with atleast one opening 22 for receiving the body c of the ampul A, and thisopening 22 has a cross 3 section which matches that of the body so thatthe body 0 is received in the block 12 in a snug, substantially playfreemanner. As is indicated in FIG. 1, the block 12 may be formed withadditional openings 24 and 26 extending into the block from its topsurface 20 but terminating short of its bottom surface 16 to provide asecure holding of ampuls having bodies of different sizes. In theillustrated example the body c has a circular cross section so that thecross section of the opening 22 is also circular.

A further feature of the invention in connection with the opening 22,.as well as the openings 24 and 26, resides not only in the fact thatthese openings terminate short of the bottom surface 16 of the block butalso in the fact that the depth of each block opening is substantiallyless than the length of the body c so that a considerable upper portionof the body 0 projects upwardly beyond the top surface 20 of the block12. In this way an easy inspection of the contents of the ampul isguaranteed even during the opening thereof so that the operator can seethe liquid in the ampul so as to make certain that the proper ampul isbeing opened.

The lever means 14 is formed, in accordance with a further importantfeature of the present invention, with a tapered opening 28 whichreceives the tapered tip b. As is most clearly shown in FIG. 2, thistapered opening 28 has a taper which matches that of the tip b of theampul A. Furthermore, the length of the tip b is greater than the depthof the opening 28 which passes completely through the elongated barwhich forms the lever 14. As a result the entire surface which definesthe opening 28 is engaged by the exterior surface of the tip b, so thatthe tip b is frictionally wedged in the opening 28 and is securely heldby the lever 14 in a play-free manner. It is therefore impossible forthe lever 14 to turn relative to the tip b during opening of the ampul,and in addition the force which the operator exerts with his hand on thelever, in the manner shown in FIG. 2, is distributed over the entirearea of the opening 28, rather than concentrated at a pair of points, sothat in this way also an extremely safe and highly reliable opening ofthe ampul is assured. The lever 14 may be made also of any suitablerigid material such as wood, a rigid plastic, metal, or the like. As isapparent from FIG. 2, the opening 28 is situated nearer to the right endof the lever, as it is shown in FIG. 2, than the left end thereof, sothat although the total length of the lever 14 is relatively small,nevertheless there remains between the opening 28 and the left end ofthe lever, as viewed in FIG. 2, a length sufficiently great to besecurely grasped by the operator enabling the operator to apply hisfingers to the lever in the manner shown in FIG. 2 for exerting a sureforce on the lever while at the same time providing a true fulcrumaction.

As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, the lever 14 may be provided with anadditional opening 30 of a taper different from that of the opening 28for receiving a tip b of a different taper.

In accordance with yet another feature of the present invention, theblock 12 carries a means for limiting the extent to which the operatorcan turn the lever 14. This latter means takes the form of an elongatedbumper 32 secured to the top surface 20 of the block 12 in any suitableway as by being screwed or glued thereto. This bumper 32 may itself bemade of a rigid material, although if desired an elastic elongatedrubber block may be used. The bumper 32 is situated in the path ofturning movement of the lever 14 so that it can only be turned from thesolid line position of FIG. 2 into the dot-dash line position of FIG. 2.Because of this limited extent of turning movement, the operators handcannot move very far, while at the same time being free to move throughan angle sufiicient to reliably open the ampul by completely removingthe tip b therefrom, so that in this way also the total force which theoperator can exert is limited and the path through which the operatorcan move his hand is limited, thus guaranteeing against movement of .4the operators hand into the region of any area where it might bepossible to engage a surface or edge which might scratch or cut the handof the operator.

It is to be noted that once the tip b is removed from the ampul itremains securely held by friction in the opening 28 of the lever 14, sothat the operator can very safely dispose of the tip b. This is in sharpcontrast with the situation where the tip b could fall freely onto afloor, for example, where it might possibly break and provide all of thedanger and inconvenience involved with a material such as broken bits ofglass.

In accordance with a still further feature of the invention a means isoperatively connected with the block 12 for tilting it to the positionshown in FIG. 3 so as to facilitate removal of the contents of the ampulA. This tilting means is in the form of a second lever 34 extendingalong an edge 36 of the block 12 and connected to the block 12 by a boltor screw 38 so that the lever 34 is turnably connected to the block 12for movement with respect thereto about an axis extending between andparallel to the top and bottom surfaces 20 and 16, respectively, of theblock 12. The free end 40 of lever 34 is adapted to engage the surface18 of the tabletop or the like when the lever 34 is turned to theposition of FIG. 3 where it extends downwardly from the edge 36substantially perpendicularly thereto. As a result the bottom surface 16of the block 12 is inclined with respect to the surface 18 in the mannershown in FIG. 3, and thus the ampul A is also inclined with respect to avertical reference line, as is apparent from FIG. 3.

As a result of this feature when a needle N of a hypodermic syringe orthe like is introduced into the ampul for removing the contents thereof,the tip of the needle can be situated at the lowermost corner of theampul, to which the last portion of the liquid medication will fiowduring emptying of the ampul, and in this way substantially the entirecontents of the ampul can be conveniently and reliably removed.

It will thus be seen that with the present invention there is provided adevice which on the one hand is quite simple and inexpensive and whichon the other hand enables an ampul to be opened in a safe, convenient,highly reliable manner, guaranteeing against undesirable breaking orshattering of the ampul while at the same time providing for safedisposal of the separated tip of the ampul. In addition, with thestructure of the invention the operator is required to exert only alimited force in order to open the ampul. Also, it is possible to removesubstantially the entire contents of the ampul in extremely convenientmanner with the structure of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for opening an ampul having at its top end a tapered tipadapted to be snapped off from the body of the ampul along a score lineextending around the neck of the ampul to give access to the interior ofthe ampul, comprising substantially rigid holding means for engaging andholding the ampul at the body thereof, and lever means for engaging saidtapered tip and snapping the latter from the body of the ampul at thescore line thereof, said lever means comprising a lever constituted byan elongated bar formed with a tapered opening passing therethrough andsaid tapered opening having a taper which matches that of the taperedtip of the ampul, the depth of said opening being less than the lengthof the tapered tip so that the exterior surface of the tapered tip ofthe ampul engages the entire surface which defines the tapered openingof said lever whereby the latter engages the tapered tip without anyplay for securely snapping the tip from the body of the ampul.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 and wherein said lever engages saidtip with a friction sufiicient to retain the tip in said opening of saidlever after said tip has been separated from the body of the ampul.

3. A device as recited in claim 1 and wherein said lever is in the formof an elongated bar having a pair of opposed ends, and said openingbeing situated nearer to one of said ends than the other, so that saidlever can be grasped in the hand of the operator with the end of thelever which is more distant from said opening being in the hand of theoperator to provide leverage.

4. A device as recited in claim 1 and wherein said lever is formed withat least one additional opening having a taper different from that ofsaid first-mentioned opening to be used with an ampul tip of a taperdifferent from the tip which is received in said first-mentionedopening.

5. A device as recited in claim 4 and wherein said openings are spacedfrom each other longitudinally along said lever.

6. A device for opening an ampul having at its top end a tapered tipadapted to be snapped off from the body of the ampul along a score lineextending around the neck of the ampul to give access to the interior ofthe ampul, comprising holding means for engaging and holding the arnpulat the body thereof, and lever means for engaging said tapered tip andsnapping the latter from the body of the ampul at the score linethereof, said lever means comprising a lever constituted by an elongatedbar formed with a tapered opening passing therethrough and said taperedopening having a taper which matches that of the tapered tip of theampul, the depth of said opening being less than the length of thetapered tip so that the exterior surface of the tapered tip of the ampulengages the entire surface which defines the tapered opening of saidlever whereby the latter engages the tapered tip without any play forsecurely snapping the tip from the body of the ampul, said holding meansbeing in the form of a block having a flat bottom surface adapted toengage a fiat tabletop surface or the like and said block being formedwith an opening extending into said block from an opposed top surfacethereof and having a cross section matching that of said body of saidampul for receiving said ampul body and holding the latter duringopening of the ampul.

7. A device as received in claim 6 and wherein said opening of saidblock has a depth sufliciently great to provide a secure holding of saidampul during the opening thereof, and said depth of said latter openingbeing 6 sufficiently shorter than the length of the body of the ampul toprovide a substantial upper portion of the ampul body projectingupwardly beyond the top surface of said block to provide for easyinspection of the contents of the ampul without removing the latter fromthe opening of said block.

8. A device as recited in claim 6 and wherein a bumper is fixed to saidtop surface of said block and situated in the path of movement of saidlever during opening of the ampul to engage said lever and limit theextent of movement thereof during opening of the ampul.

9. A device as recited in claim 6 and wherein a tilting means isoperatively connected with said block for maintaining the latter in atilted position where its bottom surface is tilted With respect to asupporting surface which engages one edge of said block, so that by Wayof said tilting means a body of an open ampul may be supported in aninclined position to facilitate removal of the entire contents of theampul.

It A device as recite-d in claim 9 and wherein said tilting meansincludes a second lever having a rest position extending along an edgeof said block, said second lever being pivotally connected to said blockat said edge thereof for turning movement about an axis parallel to saidtop and bottom surfaces of said block so that said second lever may beturned from said rest position extending along said edge of said blockto an operative position extending downwardly from said edge of saidblock substantially perpendicularly thereto so that a free end of saidlever distant from said axis can engage the supporting surface tomaintain the block in its tilt position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,515,020 7/ 1950 Scott 30164.92,638,022 5/1953 Reyes 81-3 FOREIGN PATENTS 536,718 5/ 1941 GreatBritain. 1,040,208 5/ 1953 France. 419,229 3/ 1947 Italy.

JAMES M. MEISTER, Primary Examiner.

